Wellingtonian muso Eddie Johnston, aka Lontalius, aka Race Banyon, recently held a release party in AK for his debut album “I’ll Forget 17”, released under his indie-pop live band project, Lontalius.
The album arrives after a steady stream of ‘pay what you like’ eps, singles and covers compilations, all self-released on his Bandcamp page since 2010, when, if my maths are correct, he was just 13 years old!
He also has a great ep available on Bandcamp under his electronic guise as Race Banyon.
As Lontalius, he has fine-tuned a lovely lo-fi indie-pop sound which has gained him recognition via media outlets including Stereogum, FADER, Dummy and I-D, and his album, recorded and mixed in Bristol with legendary recording engineer and producer Ali Chant of Toybox Studios (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, M. Ward, KT Tunstall), is released on New York label, Partisan.
Lontalius will also appear at CMJ this October in the states and will perform at Red Bull Music Academy in Paris in November.
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
[Transcript]
LONTALIUS
Lontalius is a genus of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae – see Wikipedia.
Lontalius is also a genus of musician in the family Verytalented – don’t see Wikipedia. Otherwise known as Eddie Johnston (and Race Banyon), the 17 year old Wellingtonian initially released music as ‘Shipwreck’, until deciding he needed a new name: “…so I clicked ‘Random Article’ on Wikipedia. I think it’s a really lovely word.” Choosing his artist name in a curious sort of a way, his interest in music and performing is also worthy of a mention: “l used to lip sync to boy band CDs in my bedroom.” He was able to put down the hairbrush when his parents bought him a guitar at the age of eight, after which he had lessons for a few years before starting to write his own songs. These days there’s not a trace of his boy band predilection. In fact, this young Casio-playing singer-songwriter is the complete antithesis. His introspective tunes have a strong lo-fi aesthetic (‘yr heart is beating’), while maintaining an endearing simplicity (‘ride wiiiiith me’). His spectral vocals heighten the prevailing melancholic mood of most tracks (The World Will Never Know About Us EP), creating an anachronistic musical mix. Inspired by listening to sad songs on repeat in his bedroom at 3am, Lontalius describes his sound in much more simplistic terms: “I’m trying to combine my favourite parts of R & B and electronic music with my favourite parts of, like, Wilco songs.” Beginning with a short loop on his Casio MT-45 or guitar, Lontalius then records with Ableton Live and builds a song around these humble beginnings. Never straying far stylistically, Lontalius also does covers, probably some of the best covers you’ll ever hear. Emulating Beyonce for ‘XO’, there’s also ‘Trophies’ by Drake and his most recent gem, ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams. Put aside all preconceptions, misconceptions, all your ‘ceptions, because although this commingling shouldn’t work, it really does. I’m not discounting alchemy of some sort, for these tracks transubstantiate completely and the end product is a wonder to behold. Oh and speaking of wonders, Ryan Hemsworth featured Lontalius’s ‘yr heart is beating’ on his first mix of 2014, aptly named ‘Ryan Hemsworth’s Cool DJ Mix’. Proof of the aforementioned Verytalented, the mixtape has led to Lontalius actually working on some songs with Hemsworth. “It’s given me a huge confidence boost. He’s one of my favourite producers and it’s a dream to be working with him.” Dreamy alright.
Lontalius profile from Rip It Up, No. 362, June 2014. Used with permission.